LAWRENCEVILLE, Georgia  – Black Book, a division of Hearst that provides industry-leading used vehicle valuations and residual value forecast solutions, today released its Used Vehicle Retention Index for April 2022. The Index decreased again to 185.4, a 2.4-point (or 1.3%) drop. The Index currently stands 22% above where it was at the same time in 2021 and 62% above pre-pandemic level in March 2020.  

Click here to obtain a copy of the latest Index data.  

“In April, we saw an overall market decline of wholesale prices for 2-8-year-old vehicle segments that comprise of Black Book’s Retention Index, but by the end of the month, the trend reversed, driven mostly by cars and smaller SUV segments” said Alex Yurchenko, Chief Data Science Officer at Black Book. “We also finally started to see the effects of high gasoline prices on consumer demand – most non-luxury, smaller vehicles of all ages increased in price during the last week of April. 

“A surprising jump in consumer confidence in April (although still one of the lowest readings in a decade) and a small decline in gas prices gave some hope for improved consumer demand for used vehicles. With the resolution of supply chain issues being pushed further into 2023, we are expecting only a moderate decline in prices during the Summer months.” 

The Black Book Used Vehicle Retention Index is calculated using Black Book’s published Wholesale Average value on two- to six-year-old used vehicles, as percent of original typically equipped MSRP. It is weighted based on registration volume and adjusted for seasonality, vehicle age, mileage, and condition. The Index offers an accurate, representative, and unbiased view of the strength of today’s used vehicle market values.